The Best 👌

Hestra best gloves imo

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Rab retired and sold up and retired quite a few years ago. If you buy a Rab branded jacket now it will likely be made in China.

Below is one of the reasons Patagonia is one of my fav. clothing brands

“unique ownership structure allows Patagonia to maintain its commitment to environmental activism while operating as a for-profit business. The company’s profits are now directed towards combating climate change and protecting the environment, effectively making Earth its “only shareholder”

Most of them, if not all the big brands make the majority of their clothes in China.

My new ME Kryos Jacket wld is made in China.

I believe only the smaller producers make products locally. Western Mountaineering are made in USA. They make some of the best down sleeping bags.

I asked about best shell jackets for skiing earlier in this thread and Arcteryx were recommended. I have one of their lighter models which is great for April / sunny day skiing. I also have a Marmot Goretex shell to be worn over a fleece etc. On the fleece side, I’d recommend Fjallraven and Decathlon.

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Doesn’t that depend on the size & shape of the wearer?

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Correct.

And if a very very skinny person wore the Rab, it would be baggy. :grin:

The Patagonia is obviously designed to be worn as an outer garment. You wouldn’t want that a tight fit, you’d have no flexibility regarding what you wear underneath it.

Unfortunately that comes under the heading of Common Sense. :slightly_smiling_face:

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tbf most of these outdoor gear brands do something for the planet as part of their sales pitch. Patagonia are one of the ones who just shout about it more than others, to make sales. If you were in any way involved in advertising, you’d get this straight away.

Only if they bought the wrong size :roll_eyes:

I think what you have missed here is that Patagonia are in a different league when it comes to sustainability. They were using materials such as organic cotton and fleece made from recycled drinks bottles back in the 1980s when this was not on anybody else’s agenda, and they are not just paying lip service to the principle of ethical and sustainable manufacturing.

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Thanks for that info. I guess I should have known Rab products are no longer in the U.K. I think their HQ remains in this country and I believe they have an outlet store in Derbyshire. Regardless, I like many of their products and their prices are not unreasonable.

Correct.

But does the fleece become inherently rubbish if it’s baggy on the wearer.

That seems to be the logic. :rofl:

Yes, Rab still make some decent gear. Like many outdoor clothing brands, they now supply a much wider market of casual clothing as well as more technical designs. The same apples to Patagonia, North Face and others. Mountain Equipment have perhaps remained more in the niche market of making technical clothing for mountaineers and rock climbers, and they tend to be my first choice here, but I wouldn’t buy one of their fleeces for everyday casual use.

I don’t know but fleeces work by trapping warm air close to the skin. Logically, a decent fleece should have the fleece on the inside rather than the outside and the fleece should be reasonably close fitting?
If your aim in life is to look like an extra from Monsters Inc then the Patagonia fleece is for you :wink:

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No doubt they are doing a good job, but so are most of the others. You only have to read Arc’teryx sales literature about sustainability, their repair service, etc

I’m not directly involved in marketing, but I do photography for companies, so I deal with ad agencies. Whether that’s clothing or pvc windows, etc. Without stating the obvious, all these companies are very aware of their image and pay huge amounts of money to agencies not only to write sales literature, but for brand awareness. Obviously nothing new, but at the end of the day, they want to make money, sell up and retire. Sell, move on, next owner, next agency. Patagonia wasn’t some guy wearing sandals in his garage making gear to save the planet.

Regarding using waste/drinks bottles; it’s big business for these recycling businesses to sell to other companies. You wouldn’t believe how competitive the market is selling recycled plastic pellets to pvc manufacturers. It’s cheap, that’s why pvc manufactures use recycled if possible. Not because they care about the planet. You should praise the guys making recyclable raw materials from waste. Their factories are amazing.

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Yes

Patagonia uses Fair Trade practices in their offshore manufactured products.

“Patagonia has indeed made significant strides in incorporating Fair Trade practices into their clothing production. Since 2014, the company has been partnering with Fair Trade USA to produce Fair Trade Certified clothing. This initiative has grown substantially over the years, with Patagonia now offering more Fair Trade Certified styles than any other apparel brand”

Yvon Chouinard is The Real Deal

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Clearly never is incorrect!

Maybe time to start a club of grey people - all of course able to read each other’s convincingly arguments against something incorrect…

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I’m in.

This is me, in my grey Patagonia retro pile fleece.

Nice fit.

I look pretty pretty good. :slightly_smiling_face:

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